Wordbabble

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Frenemy: an enemy who pretends to be a friend

What may surprise you about this word is that it has been around A LOT longer than you might think. In recent years, it has been used in pop culture ad nauseum, most notably in an episode of “Sex and the City.”

A combination of the words “friend” and “enemy,” the general meaning of the word is readily understood. It can describe an enemy who pretends to be a friend, or even a real friend who is competing with you for something you desire, such as a job or a love interest.

Here’s the shocker. The first documented use of the word was in 1953. Journalist W. Winchell wrote about the United States’ age-old nemesis Russia as a “frenemy.” It is speculated that this word also derives some of its meaning from the Arabic proverb, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Gaining traction in the past decade or so, the word “frenemy” has appeared in respected publications like Businessweek and Scientific American, as well as innumerable websites and, according to OMGfacts.com, “countless blog pages.” Looks like Wordbabble is now one of them.

Sources:
Merriam-Webster.com
Yahoo Answers
Dictionary.com
OMG Facts

Monday, October 21, 2013

Console your Video Game Console: A Study in Homographs

My boyfriend recently bought me an Xbox (the first gen one) so I could play one of my favorite games, Fable. As I planned out the task of setting the video game console up to the TV, I realized that the word “console” can also mean to “console” a friend who is upset.

And then I started thinking about other words that followed this weird rule and wondered if there was a word for these type of words. Yes, I think very tangentially sometimes.

The English language has so many idiosyncrasies that make it very difficult for not only English language learners but even native speakers to master. It turns out that the “console” duality is referred to as a homograph.

We all know about homophones, those words that sound the same but mean different things and are spelled differently. We learn this one quickly because it leads to lots of spelling mistakes. For example, to/two/too and their/they're/there are some of the most commonly misused.

A homograph is a word that is spelled the same as another word, but it means something different and is often pronounced differently. The easiest way to explain this is through examples. For instance “wound” can refer to an injury or wrapping a bandage around the injury.

Here are a few other examples, written in some-what nonsensical sentences.

The bass swam to the sound of the bass.
He hit the bat with a metal bat.
She pulled the down blanket down from the shelf.
You will receive a fine for your fine styling of her fine hair.
The most minute bug can travel far in just a minute.
He moped when his moped refused to start.
She waved at the waves crashing onto the shore.
I need to console my video game console.

What examples can you come up with?

Related Links
Vocabulary.com
Daily Writing Tips

Monday, September 23, 2013

Say Cheese!

To force the lips into a smile, the word “cheese” causes a person to position their teeth and then part their lips into a somewhat aesthetically pleasing grimace. But when did this word enter the language as a means to get perfect photos?

One of the first references to “cheese” as a photographic strategy was in a 1943 article in The Big Spring Herald:

“It comes from former Ambassador Joseph E. Davies and is guaranteed to make you look pleasant no matter what you’re thinking. Mr. Davies disclosed the formula while having his own picture taken on the set of his 'Mission to Moscow.' It’s simple. Just say 'Cheese,' It’s an automatic smile. 'I learned that from a politician,' Mr. Davies chuckled.”

Who was this “politician”? It is believed this could be then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt. It's not clear if Roosevelt coined the phrase or if he got it from another source.

As a interesting side note, non-English speaking cultures have developed their own versions of the “cheese” trick. In Mexico and Argentina, they say 'whisky' and in France, 'dit souris' ('say mouse').

During the Victorian era (1837-1901) it is rumored that photographers told their subjects to say “prunes.” This produced a much more mild facial expression than “cheese.” This helped people keep a small mouth with firmly closed lips.

There were a few reasons behind this trend of unsmiling photos. These neutral expressions were used because photographs required a very long exposure time along with poor dental hygeine.

When Kodak came along and photos could be captured more quickly and by just about anyone, smiles came in vogue. More casual moments were caught on film, taking with them every expression the human face can make.

And then we evolved to what is now known as the “duck face.”